Congress accuses Jai Ram of promoting VIP culture in state
The Congress accused chief minister Jai Ram Thakur of promoting VIP culture in the state. Congress five-time legislator and deputy leader of the party in the House Harshwardhan Chauhan flayed Jai Ram Thakur for “excessive use of state-run chopper and spending extravagantly on ministers and VIPs’ visits in the state.”
“The government has spent Rs 25 crore only on chopper in the last four years. It’s astonishing that the young CM flies only in choppers while the elderly former CMs like Virbhadra Singh and Prem Kumar Dhumal travelled by road to inspect developmental works,” he said while addressing the media in Shimla. “The 54-year-old chief minister doesn’t step out of Shimla without the chopper,” he said. “The government has got luxury vehicles for ministers ranging from Rs 35 lakh to 40 lakh. Ministers have more than one vehicle. There is a jumbo team of chairmen and vice-chairmen in the government,” said Chauhan, demanding a white paper on the fiscal health of the state. “The debt burden of the state was nearly Rs 42,000 crore. Now it’s more than Rs 63,200 crore. The government should issue a white paper on the fiscal condition of the state,” he said.
He said that if voted to power, Congress would put an end to the “VIP culture in the state”.
He dared the government to hold elections to the municipal corporation.
Meanwhile, BJP state general secretary Trilok Jamwal, countering the Congress attack, claimed that the BJP government inherited a huge loan from the Congress government. “The loans raised by our government are lesser than what Congress raised. Every penny has been spent on development,” he said.